SA Rule biography

Sue Rule was born on the outskirts of Croydon, and now lives in Edenbridge, Kent. As well as being an author, she is a songwriter and musician: one quarter of family folk group Pig’s Ear.

She has been writing bits of the fictional history of Shehaios since she first dreamed up the world and its rather prosaic magic in the early 1970’s. The intervening years spent learning and perfecting her craft have culminated in the “Shaihen Heritage” series.

Sue has been writing since the age of 7. She claims she kept trying to give it up, but it wouldn’t let her, so she decided to share her writings with a reading public instead, and embarked on creating the gripping and original fantasy series “Shaihen Heritage” (www.shehaios.co.uk).  The series grows out of Sue’s love of history and folklore, and tracks the fictional history of an imagined world which is not unlike our own. The name “she-haios" means "the home of the spirit of life", and the people who live there have an intuitive understanding of that mysterious force which created mankind and the world we all live in. They seek to serve the spirit of life, guided by the gifts and knowledge of the Magician. The stories chart their conflicts and alliances with those inhabitants of their world who are motivated more by the greed and ambitions of an ever-more prolific human race.

Sue is a member of Kent writing group The Write Idea, and works with other authors to promote independent writers and small publishing houses.

Sue’s other creative life is as a songwriter, singer and musician with Kent folk group, Pig’s Ear (www.pigs-sty.com). Pig’s Ear have been playing together for 21 years, and have appeared at a number of festivals as well as a string of engagements at fetes, pubs and folk clubs. They are regular contributors to the annual Rochester Sweeps Festival, and have fans scattered around the world.

Sue is also an organiser of musical events, having staged numerous local concerts. She is the leading light in organising a small annual music festival at the village of Markbeech, near Edenbridge. This increasingly popular little festival prides itself on its eclectic mix of material and its friendly efficiency. Sue cut her festival teeth organising a another series of local festivals, Folk on the Green, during the mid-1990s. Prior to that, she was part of the organising committee and resident musician with Croydon Folk Club. She is currently engaged in plans for a 2009 Edenbridge town festival.
Sue joined BBC Radio straight after “A” levels, and worked for the BBC until the birth of her first daughter. Part-time jobs while raising the family included stable girl, door-to-door deliveries, and administrative support for an outdoor pursuits centre. She also contributed to committees for various community organisations and was at one time a school Parent-Governor.

In her  current “day job” , Sue Rule is Director of Sales and Marketing with SMS Ltd., a specialist software management consultancy in which she and her husband, Grant, are majority shareholders. (www.measuresw.com).

SA Rule books

Shaihen Heritage

  • Cloak of Magic
  • Staff of Power
  • Spirit of Shehaios

 

Latest news: SA Rule

Fantasy Book Review: Cloak of Magic by SA Rule
Somewhere along the line where human nature meets human imagination, myths are created. Somewhere in that space lives the spirit that created and sustains Shahaios, the Fair Land. One man embodies the gifts of the spirit. A man all too susceptible to the human flaws that lie beneath the cloak of ma [...]

Image: Apartment 16 book cover

Book of the Month

Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill
Some doors are better left closed . . . In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.

Previous winners of Book of the Month

An image of author Alex Bell

Latest interviews

Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.

Image: A Game of Thrones book cover

Must-reads

The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.

Competition: Win a signed copy of Graham Hancock's Entangled

Image: Entangled (Graham Hancock) book cover

Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heaven's Mirror, Supernatural and other bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. Written with the same page-turning appeal that has made his non-fiction so popular, Entangled is his first work of fiction. We have five signed copies of Entangled to give away as prizes. Email us the answer to the following question and the lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a copy of the book, signed by the author.

Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe

Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.

Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland

Image: The Mystery of Lewis Carroll book cover

Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.

Image: Entangled by Graham Hancock book cover Top 100 fantasy books Young adult fantasy books Children's fantasy books Image: Fallen by Lauren Kate book cover image

News

Competition: Win a signed copy of Graham Hancock's Entangled

Competition is open to UK residents only and will run from March 16, 2010 until April 1, 2010 Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heav [...]

Why Star Wars is coming to Fantasy Book Review

When you come to Fantasy Book Review, you probably come because you want “reviews” on “fantasy books.” It’s a pretty decent assumption, right? It’s in the name, it’s what we’re all about. So you mi [...]

The New Jedi Order

A look at the list of Star Wars novels will see the Star Wars expanded universe split into several eras. There is the Rise of the Empire era, the Rebellion era, the New Republic era and the New Jedi O [...]

Dark Tide II: Ruin by Michael A Stackpole reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 25 ABY The alien Yuuzhan Vong have launched an attack on the worlds of the Outer Rim. They are merciless, without regard for life—and they stand utterly outside the Force. Their ever-changing ta [...]

Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael A Stackpole reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 25 ABY It is a perilous time for the New Republic. Just when unity is needed most, mistrust is on the rise. Even the Jedi feel the strain, as rogue elements rebel against Luke Skywalker's lead [...]

Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 25 ABY The Galactic Empire has ended the war with the New Republic, but the galaxy is far from peace. Unrest is spreading everywhere, and threatens to destroy the New Republic's tenuous reign. [...]

Survivor’s Quest by Timothy Zahn reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 22 ABY After fifty years, the remains of Outbound Flight—a pioneering Jedi expedition viciously destroyed by the alien warlord Grand Admiral Thrawn—have been found on the planet Nirauan. The b [...]

Fool’s Bargain by Timothy Zahn reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 22 ABY Once infamously known as “Vader’s Fist,” the legendary 501st are the best men for the dangerous objective at hand—capturing the Warlord alive. It’s a risky mission that might be jeopard [...]

Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 19 ABY The Empire's master plan is under way. The New Republic is on the verge of civil war and the rumor that the legendary Admiral Thrawn has returned from the dead is rallying the Imperial [...]

Spectre of the Past by Timothy Zahn reviewed on Fantasy Book Review

Set: 19 ABY The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse. But they have saved their most heinous plan for last. First a plot is hatched that could destroy the New Republic in a bloodbath of gen [...]